NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – The healthy human placenta is home to microbial communities that are largely distinct from those found at other body sites, according to a study appearing online today in Science Translational Medicine.

A Baylor College of Medicine team used a combination of 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing and metagenomic sequencing to look at the microbes and microbial genes present in placental samples from 320 individuals.